Book of the Month : December - Let It Snow, Three Holiday Romances

Let it Snow

By John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle

I am not one for romances but I was looking for something to get me into the holiday spirit and these short stories seemed like just what I was looking for.

Let it Snow is a collection of three short stories tied together by a common thread; written by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle,

So go make yourself some hot coco, grab your favourite snugly blanket, curl up by the fire and prepare for a warm night in with this to read. All three romances have a holiday theme and they definitely got me in the spirit of things. The three stories can stand alone but there is an underlying thread to tie them together in the end.

My favourite of the three authors stories was by John Green, I actually found myself laughing and read this one very quickly. The other tales were a little sappy for my taste ... but who am I kidding I love a little sappy, cheesy-ness once in a while. 'Tis the season for love and friendship and spreading joy and all that.

Richmond Public Library keeps this book in storage and only pulls it out this time of year so you might have to place a hold on it to guarantee you can get your hands on it.

Happy holidays to you all!

Book of the Month - Happily Ever After

By Kiera Cass
 
Happily Ever After by Kiera Cass is a relative of the Selection Series. While this book is not part of the chronological selection stories, it does offer a behind the scenes look at some of the more prominent characters in the main series. Before picking up this book, you need to be aware that it contains spoilers and if you have not completed the Selection books before reading it, you will learn the outcome of things yet to happen. Despite having read this book while waiting for the Heir to arrive, I still enjoyed reading about the characters I had come to know, even though some information about future events was revealed.

In this book, each character has his or own chapter, and we learn a little of their back story, which helps in some cases to understand the actions of the character in the series. The Queen takes us into Queen Amberly's pre-queen days and we can see why she has an affinity for America. In The Prince lets us a little futher inside Maxon. Aspen`s story is told in The Guard and is a little longer than the others. Truth be told, I get a little tired of Aspen in the series, he unnecessarily hounds America. I really liked The Favourite, as Marlee was a good friend to America and I was saddened at her demise, so this tale gave me a little more information to lift that sadness. I did not really care for Celeste, but this chapter did help me to dislike her a little less. With The Maid,  I was happy to learn a bit more about Lucy and her chance for happiness. After the One offers a glimpse at America's mew life and there's a final chapter that wraps up the girls who remained in the selection to the end. I liked that as I often wonder what happened to those "left behind" and it was a nice way to end their stories. 

If you like this series, you might like to try this collection of short stories. It's a nice quick read, and takes you a bit further into the world of the Selection.

Violent Ends: A Novel in Seventeen Points of View

As the jacket description reads, "it took only twenty-two minutes for Kirby Matheson to exit his car, march onto school grounds, enter the gymnasium, and open fire, killing six and injuring five others."

This book is about a school shooting, but it's about much more than that, too.  Each chapter of the book is told from a different viewpoint, written by well-known authors, including Neal Shusterman, Beth Revis, Kenare Blake and Cynthia Leitich.  The shooting, and the person who carried out the shooting, draws the stories together, but this isn't a story about recounting exactly what happened in the shooting, or re-hashing what could've, would've should've after the fact. 

Because the chapters are written by different authors, you really get a sense of the different view points. I found myself wanting to keep reading to see how each of the stories, and the characters within, were connected to Kirby and the other people in the town.